A-10 title up for grabs as Owls take on Spiders

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - Atlantic City, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gunning for their ninth Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament title, the third in as many seasons, the 17th-ranked and top-seeded Temple Owls take the floor at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this afternoon against third-seeded Richmond.

The Owls, who are attempting to become only the second team in the A-10 to ever win three straight tourney titles after the five in a row posted by UMass from 1992-96, haven't been truly challenged in this year's event. The squad opened with a 69-51 defeat of eighth-seeded St. Bonaventure on Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals and then moved on to a 57-44 victory against Rhode Island on Saturday. With the triumphs, Temple is now 51-19 in the tournament all-time.

As for the Spiders, currently an even 8-8 in this event since joining the league, they have yet to bring home the trophy. Then again, this is just the second trip to the title game for the program following a 72-60 loss to Xavier back in 2002. Ironically, it was an 89-85 overtime victory against those same Musketeers yesterday that propelled Richmond into the tournament finale.

The Spiders have tied the school-record for the most wins in a single season and have defeated four straight ranked opponents, with their eye on making it five this afternoon in Atlantic City.

Of Temple's two conference losses this season, one was at the hands of the Spiders in a 71-54 final in Virginia back on February 6th, the last time the Owls also lost any outcome. As a result, the all-time series now numbers 8-7 in favor of Temple.

After getting to overtime against Xavier yesterday, the Spiders had little trouble disposing of the Musketeers as they shot 4-of-5 from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 behind the three-point line and 6-of-6 at the charity stripe to seal the deal. All-conference performer David Gonzalvez posted 26 points, converting all but one of his 14 free-throw attempts, while adding five assists and four rebounds. Just ahead of Gonzalvez in the scoring column was Kevin Anderson, who logged a game-high 27 points as he made good on 10-of-21 shots from the field. Playing a significant role off the bench was Dan Geriot with 11 points in a mere 16 minutes, while fellow reserve Francis Martel tacked on 10 points and eight rebounds. Richmond, which has played three overtime games in the last five outings overall, is led in scoring by Anderson and his 17.9 ppg, having made more shots at the free-throw line (122-of-147) than all but one of his teammates has attempted this season. Gonzalvez accounts for another 14.7 ppg having made good on a team-best 73 three-point attempts. The defense for the Spiders has held opponents to just 39.2 percent shooting from the field, 29.3 percent out on the perimeter and 62.4 ppg overall.

Sticking with the starters for as much as possible, the Owls had little worry as they easily took care of Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon by double figures. In fact, Temple ran out to a commanding 15-2 lead and never looked back as the defense held URI to just seven total field goals in the first half and 27.1 percent shooting from the floor overall in the contest. The Owls themselves had some issues from the field in the second half with just five field goals, but the squad hit on 12-of-20 at the free-throw line to keep their distance. Ryan Brooks was responsible for 16 points, Juan Fernandez 14 and seven assists, while Lavoy Allen came up a point shy of logging another double-double as he cleared a team-best 10 rebounds. Winners of nine in a row, the Owls have had a different leading scorer in each of the last four outings, a testament to the team's balanced scoring attack. Brooks tops the scoring list with his 14.3 ppg, followed by Fernandez and Allen with 12,4 and 11.7 ppg, respectively. While the points can be evenly divided in any given contest, Allen is easily the leader in the paint for Temple with his 10.9 rpg. In fact, in the meeting last month against Richmond the big man was a beast in the paint with not only 17 points, but also a game-high 19 rebounds.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.